The present invention relates generally to an internal combustion engine and, more specifically, to an improved wrist pin connection, charged air delivery system and accumulator system for an internal combustion engine. The invention also concerns improvements to an engine for conversion of combustion energy to fluid displacement work, such as the engine described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/587,233 to the same inventor.
Much recent attention has been focused upon the use of electronic controls to monitor the air fuel mixture delivered to the engine, electronic fuel injectors to optimize the spray of fuel into the engine cylinder, and catalytic converters to reduce noxious emissions. Thus far, the focus of engine developers has been based upon standard internal combustion engine principles in which an air fuel mixture is ignited within a combustion cylinder. One recent example is represented by the two cycle engine of the Orbital Engine Company of Perth, Australia.
In my prior patent application Ser. No. 587,223, which issued on May 5, 1991 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,810, I disclosed an internal combustion engine, known as the "hydrocycle" engine, which provided significant improvements in fuel economy, emissions reduction, operation efficiency, power output availability and engine life. Further improvements in operational efficiency and engine durability, for example, would enhance my "hydrocycle" engine and perhaps find application in other internal combustion engines as well.
One such area of improvement includes the joint between the piston and the connecting rod. Kocher, U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,815, discloses a crank pin, connecting rod and bearing assembly adapted for use in apparatuses such as refrigerator compressors or the like, wherein high pressure hydrodynamic lubrication is provided in the load bearing zone between an upper bearing section and the crank pin. Comstock, U.S. Pat. No. 1,637,765, describes a piston and connecting rod construction, wherein the piston incorporates a semi-spherical recess and the connecting rod is connected to a spherical head.
Another area of improvement include the supply of air to the engine. For example, in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,810 I disclosed a mechanically driven centrifugal supercharger which delivers an air charge to a hydrocycle engine. Still other areas of improvement relate generally to the prevention of engine knock. For example, in my "hydrocycle" internal combustion engine, engine knock is reduced by the reaction piston assembly in which the pump piston quickly accelerates to facilitate the expansion of combustion gas.
There is always a need for an engine incorporating improvements in fuel economy, emissions reduction, operation efficiency, power output availability and engine life, to name but a few. Such an engine would include an improved piston to connecting rod joint. Such an engine would also include an improved air delivery system for delivering charged air to the engine. Also desirous is an improved "hydrocycle" engine, wherein further improvements in preventing engine knock are provided.